Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Campus Map

Description: Map of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.

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About Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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In a Nutshell
Our U.S. universities tour heads back to Cambridge, Massachusetts to the next university on our list, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). MIT is a private, polytechnic research school that has one of the best programs for STEM education, which focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

MIT was chartered in 1861, just days before the outbreak of the Civil War. The school was intended to be a new kind of school that would focus on the new technologies that were coming out at the time. During the wars, researchers at MIT assisted with defense research and development. Several movements to combine MIT and Harvard’s Lawrence Scientific School were attempted but failed.

Today, MIT has about 4,300 undergraduate students enrolled and about 6,500 graduate students in its five schools, which are the schools of Architecture and Planning; Engineering; Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; Management, and Science. MIT’s academic calendar begins in September and ends in May, and follows a semester system.

Academic Achievement

MIT is an in-demand university for students across the country, with an acceptance rate of 9.7 percent. A faculty filled with the top professors and scientific researchers, many of whom are Nobel laureates and National Medal of Science winners, makes MIT a great place to study. Like Stanford, MIT has many entrepreneurs around campus, who give MIT an atmosphere of innovation and productivity.

While in recent years, from the mid-1960s to the 1980s, MIT has increased and strengthened its humanities and social science programs, its most popular division is the School of Engineering. The engineering school has nineteen degree programs and a science-heavy course load, even for general education classes, which include physics, calculus, chemistry, and biology. Within MIT’s five schools, there are over thirty departments and programs offered.

MIT’s educational style is very hands-on, with labs frequently part of coursework and a student to faculty ration of eight to one. As a strong research university, MIT offers its students another hands-on learning experience with Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROP), which allows students to create and assist with real research projects along with experts in the field to give students research experience.

Bang For Your Buck
MIT’s tuition is fairly similar to that of the other schools on our list at about $40,000, with an additional $11,000 for room an board. About 92 percent of MIT’s students receive financial aid, and about 62 percent of students receive aid from MIT itself. The average aid received by a student at MIT is $38,000 per year. MIT is unusual in that it does not award athletic scholarships to its students, though it does excel in some sports. In general, MIT makes a good effort to make its education affordable, so students are not left in debt. MIT graduates are typically very successful at finding employment after graduation.

Social Scene
MIT’s student population is known for being overwhelmingly male-dominated, and female students make up of only about 45 percent of the total, though this number is much higher than at the school’s start. Though MIT students represent almost every states, the best represented state at MIT is California, and about 10 percent of MIT students are international. Undergraduate students can live in one of the twelve dorms, or choose to live off campus instead, an option that about 8 percent of students choose.

Student life at MIT has much to offer, including over 450 student organizations, like a Quidditch team and an improv troupe. The Greek system at MIT is significant, with 50 percent of men joining a fraternity during their time at the school, and 34 percent of women joining a sorority.

The school is known for the infamous pranks student play on the school, neighboring schools, and the surrounding community. These pranks are known as MIT Hacks, and are usually elaborate, well-planned, and entertaining for everyone involved. MIT Hacks provide a somewhat mischievous, but mostly good natured, form of community activity.

MIT participates in thirty-three varsity athletic teams, and plays in NCAA Division III and the New England Football Conference.

Where is MIT Located

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts , just over the Mass Ave bridge from Boston, and not far from Harvard University. In fact, over eighty colleges are located in the area, bringing about 250,000 college students together to create a young, student atmosphere. The short distance to Boston gives students plenty of additional opportunities for work, internships, and other activities.

The MIT campus itself was built in a neoclassical, and more recently, progressive and abstract architecture on 168 acres of land near the Charles River basin. The architecture at MIT has in part been designed by students at the Architecture School at MIT, and much of it is unusual and asymmetrical, making for a very interesting campus.

Why MIT Makes Our List

MIT differs from the other universities at the top of our list for being a science and technology centered school, which are important fields of study in our society. Students that attend MIT will be well-placed to make real advancements in the world in regards to medical science and computer sciences. A great, hands-on education from some of the best professors out there, combine with a fun social life and a great city right next door all make MIT one of the best universities in the United States.